Swimming For Survival
by HipsterMaybe
Summary: Danny always complained about Steve's driving, but did his partner ever pay any attention to his warnings? When Steve takes the Camaro off a cliff, he learns a valuable lesson in heeding Danny's advice. Little one shot with some whump and bromance thrown in. I own nothing but the plot I came up with.


**Ever been so tired you just can't sleep? Well, that's pretty much me right now. Me, Mitch, and Luke are all curled up in bed so we decided why not write a little something to help us get to sleep? Not sure what this will turn out to be, but I hope you enjoy it all the same :)**

It seemed to Danny that Steve was determined to get him into the water by any means necessary. Still, this seemed a little excessive even for the reckless former SEAL.

"Whoa! You wanna take it easy on those turns, buddy? This is a cliff you know!" Danny yelled as he watched the needle climb past ninety miles per hour.

"I'm not losing this guy Danny! Just hold on, we'll be fine." Steve shouted back, jerking the wheel sharply. It was lucky that they were in the Camaro. Danny highly doubted that Steve's massive truck could've pulled off those insane turns. Danny looked up from the dash just in time to see the car they were chasing smash into the guardrail. Steve tried to brake, but the glass from the shattered windows of the other vehicle popped the front left tire. Desperately, he tried to turn the wheel, but it was too late. The black Camaro struck the guardrail and flipped over, somersaulting into the ocean below.

Danny came to as water flooded his nose. He coughed and sputtered, fighting to unbuckle his seat belt. Once he was free and had a little more room to breathe, he looked over to see Steve slumped over the steering wheel, his head half submerged. Resisting the urge to panic, Danny took a deep breath and slid below the surface. Once he had freed Steve, he pulled his limp partner up into the small pocket of air remaining in the car. As he held Steve against chest, he became aware of the fact that the man wasn't breathing. Frantically, he checked for a pulse, relieved to find a strong beat beneath his fingers. Danny knew that time was short, so he improvised. He quickly blew two breaths into Steve's mouth, then braced him against a seat and began chest compressions. After a moment, Steve began to expel the water from his lungs, but he did not wake. Danny cursed, then, after taking a deep breath, tapped the switch to roll down the window with his toe. Water immediately began to flood in, filling the interior within seconds. With a last burst of strength, Danny dragged Steve with him out of the open window. He got Steve out first, but his belt got stuck. Praying that he would make it to the surface, Danny pushed Steve up hard, propelling him toward daylight. A moment later, he too made it through the window. He knew his oxygen was dwindling, but he was so close. Just as he was about to give up, his outstretched hand reached air. One final kick and he was gasping in the salty air. As soon as he could think, he began searching for Steve. Miraculously, he was floating face up only a few feet away. Danny swam over to him quickly and took him in his arms.

"Steve?" he asked hoarsely, trying to rouse his partner. "Come on buddy, wake up." Steve's eyes remained stubbornly shut. The waves were choppy, making it hard to keep their heads above water. Carefully, Danny began to check Steve over for injuries. Aside from the heavily bleeding cut on his forehead, Danny could find nothing else. At least they had that going for them, he thought sourly. He was tiring quickly and carrying two hundred pounds of dense muscle that refused to be anything more than dead weight wasn't helping matters one bit. That was when he spotted the rock. It wasn't big, but it was enough to hold onto. In an awkward paddle, Danny eventually made it to the rock. He was almost completely exhausted now as he draped Steve's arms over the rock. Now that his body wasn't entirely focused on swimming and carrying his partner, Danny started to feel pain. His ribs were most certainly broken and pain lanced through his skull, forcing him to close his eyes. He must've blacked out for a moment because when he opened them, he was being shaken awake by a man in bright orange.

"Sir? Sir! Can you hear me?" the man asked.

"Steve?" Danny mumbled dazedly. The man shouted something upwards, but Danny didn't catch it. "Steve?" he asked again. His vision was blurry, but he could tell that his partner was no longer beside him. Danny wasn't even holding onto the rock any more. "Where's m' partner?" Danny slurred, beginning to panic. Had he let Steve go? Had Steve drowned?

"Sir, I need you to calm down. We've got you now. You'll be okay." Danny struggled to free himself from the man's grip once more, then went limp, his eyes fluttering closed.

H

5

0

"-anny?" a voice cut through the haze of sleep. It was distorted and he'd only caught part of it, but it sounded like his name. "Danny? You with us brah?" the voice asked again. Now that had to be to Chin. Danny tried to open his eyes, but his lids were far too heavy. Fragmented memories of the accident began to return to him. His heart sped up as he remembered his partner.

"'teve…" he managed to whisper. He began struggling to free himself from what felt like thick ropes around his body. "Where…'teve." There was a hand on his shoulder and Danny fought even harder to twist away from it, but the hand held fast.

"Danno, open your eyes. Wake up, buddy. I'm right here." Steve's voice. Steve was okay. The fight left Danny all at once and he sank back into what he now realized was bed. The thick ropes were blankets. "That's it, Danno. Just breathe, nice and slow. Good." Steve's voice soothed. "Now, do you think you can open your eyes for us?" Danny's eyelids flickered. "Come on, just a little more." Steve said encouragingly. Finally, Danny managed to pry his heavy lids open. The blurry outline of three people greeted him.

"Hey, Danny. How do you feel?" the one shaped like a woman said. Kono, his brain provided. He tried to answer, but talking was a little harder than he expected. His mouth felt dry and awkward. The biggest of all of the figures leaned over and placed a straw between his lips. He sucked the tepid liquid down greedily. As he did, his vision began to clear a little.

"Better?" Steve asked, smiling at him. Danny nodded.

"You…okay?" he asked, pointing to the thick bandage on his friend's head.

"Yeah, I'm good, man. Thanks to you."

"Thought I let you drown…" Danny mumbled. Steve shook his head and squeezed his shoulder.

"No, you did good. You did so good, Danno. The Coasties who got us out of there said that you pulled me from the car and got us to that rock. You saved my life."

"How bad?" Danny insisted, still pointing at Steve's head.

"Just a cut and a minor concussion. You, on the other hand my friend, have a very serious concussion from smacking your head on the window. Your brain swelled up pretty bad. The doctors have no idea how you managed to do what you did, let alone wake up at all. The swellings going down nicely, but you have to stay here a few days." Steve explained.

"How long?" Danny whispered. He was starting to get tired already.

"Four days, pal. It's definitely good to see you awake, but you look like you could use some sleep right now. Why don't you rest and we'll talk later, okay?"

"'kay. An' for the record, I'm tired 'cause I had to swim while hauling your heavy ass." Danny grumbled.

"Aww, but Danno don't swim." Steve joked.

"I can swim. Swim for survival."

"I know, buddy. I can't ever thank you enough."

"Replace my car and we're even."

"You got it, man." Steve chuckled.

**Well, we're tired now, so I guess it's the end. Hope it was good for just being a little thing we slapped together. **


End file.
